TAMPA BAY, Fla. -- The Flyers will have Brayden Coburn back on the blue line for another four years.
The 26-year-old defenseman has agreed to four-year, 18 million contract extension, a league source told CSNPhilly.com.
His cap hit is 4.5 milliona very nice bump from his current two-year contract extension that was paying him 3.2 million. He does not have a no-trade clause in the extension.
Coburn has been a virtual constant on the back end with partner Kimmo Timonen since the second half of the 2007-08 season.
Weve been lucky to build some chemistry together, Coburn said. Just being able to have almost an advantage because you are a little bit instinctual in knowing where the reads are and how a different person reacts and how they are going to play certain situations.
Lots of times, there may be odd man rush and you have to have that little edge to try and cut down the odds.
Timonen nurtured Coburn after the latter came here from Atlanta in the 2006-07 season.
NHL
Hes been good in helping me get better over the years and giving me pointers and sometimes I get a little worked up on the ice and kinda emotional sometimes, and he's always there to steady me, Coburn said of Timonen.
Once a player who had pretty good offensive numbers, Coburns role has changed in recent years to that of a shutdown defenseman.
Your role is going to change a little bit after you had a Hall of Famer in Chris Pronger obviously, but I think its been great for me and given me an unbelievable opportunity to grow and to learn under some of the games best, Coburn said.
He no longer plays minutes on the power play (more like seconds), but coach Peter Laviolette said that was because hed rather use Coburn more for penalty kill and even strength minutes against top offensive players.
Viewed from that perspective, Coburn likely would have gotten similar money as an unrestricted free agent next July had he waited.
Contract talks between his agent, Gerry Johannson, and general manager Paul Holmgren began this fall and were interrupted with the birth of his baby daughter Rory in mid-October.
The last couple of day we got a deal done, Coburn said. I feel great that Im going to be staying with my family in Philadelphia. Ive been here a long time six years.
Im glad it worked out. It was a good process and its nice to have it done so I can focus on hockey, not that I wasnt before but its always nice to have it done. Its an honor to be part of something special like the Flyers.
Laviolette said he was pleased Coburn will be here for the long haul.
Hes a big defenseman that is able to play against the other teams better players, Laviolette said. Hes got a good head on his shoulders, he reads the play well. Theyve been a good pair for quite a while. When you get a defenseman who is able to play all situations for youHe provides a lot of minutes and they are usually against the top players in the league.
Hockey Buzz had reported Tuesday night that Coburn was close to signing either a four- or five-year extension.
Gustafsson: Not very a often a player has a plus-6 outing and doesnt appear in the next game. However, defenseman Erik Gustafsson did not make the trip to Tampa as he is reportedly nursing a wrist injury. He is expected to join the team in Naples, Fla. by the weekend for the Flyers annual team bonding excursionChris Pronger will return to the lineup tonight and again be paired with partner Matt Carle. Pronger has missed six games with a right eye injury. The team was 3-2-1.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net